Newcastle United are set to hold fresh talks with Brighton and Hove Albion regarding a move for influential midfielder Yves Bissouma, according to the Mail.
Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa still hold an interest in the Malian, who is currently playing in the African Cup of Nations, but are ‘exploring other options’.
The Seagulls want £50m for the 25-year-old who has 18 months on his contract, and with Villa looking at other targets, the Magpies could approach a player they had identified at the beginning of the transfer window.
But the £50m asking price is a large sum which has reportedly played a huge part in the Villains looking elsewhere.
However, the Mail claim that PIF still “want to see if a deal is feasible” for Bissouma.
Graham Potter’s star midfielder has interest from other top Premier League and European clubs, but it seems unlikely that any of the interested parties are going to come forward with a bid this month.
With other clubs stalling on approaching Bissouma, Newcastle could steal a march as we edge closer to the last week of the winter window.
Signing the former Lille man in the coming days would be a real statement of intent from the club’s Saudi-led consortium.
The athletic box-to-box midfielder sits top of the charts alongside Wilfred Ndidi and Rayan Ait-Nouri for the average number of tackles per game in the Premier League (3.6), according to WhoScored.
According to FBref, only Dortmund’s Manuel Akanji (84.2%) has a greater success rate than Bissouma across Europe’s top five leagues when it comes to the percentage of dribblers tackled.
He also sits in the Premier League’s top 10 for the average number of interceptions per game (1.9).
The stats don’t lie, Bissouma would give Newcastle’s midfield that extra grit and bite, alongside his star-studded quality.
More than capable of breaking forward from deep and having an eye for a pass, Newcastle’s defence would be given much greater protection with Bissouma occupying the anchor role.
But his participation at the Afcon will only add to the complications of striking a deal in the remaining days of the window.
With centre-back reinforcements having to be the priority, targeting Yves Bissouma is probably going to have to wait until the summer with our Premier League status still in tact.
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